Quake disaster delivers diplomatic silver lining for Turkey
Post-quake solidarity has warmed Turkey’s ties with Greece, Armenia and Israel, but no thaw is seen between Turkey and Syria despite their common suffering from the disaster.
The flurry of aid diplomacy in the wake of the pair of massive earthquakes in Turkey has shattered Ankara’s portrayals of friends and foes, as countries cast as “enemies” rushed to help in the search for survivors and offer humanitarian relief.
Turkey’s Islamists espoused the notion that only Muslims could be true brothers to each other, while nationalists promoted the mantra that “Turks have no friends other than Turks.” Drawing on such sentiments at their grassroots, the ruling Justice and Development Party and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party, kept lashing out at “external enemies,” often as a diversion from domestic woes.
